KSL Movie Show review: James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ is more vulnerable

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

I don’t know of any kid that didn’t want to play Superman, be Superman, marry Superman or tell a great Superman story.  As luck and talent would have it, that honor has fallen upon writer/director James Gunn in this instance and he has made his version of the classic tale. 

It’s important to make that distinction.  If you bring your version of “Superman” to the theater, you might be disappointed, but if you let James offer his interpretation and have an open mind, I think you’ll come away fairly satisfied. 

So I went with the notion – WWJD – “What would James do” – and rode that quirky, clever, creative, trippy pony all the way to the end, which also means, stay through the closing credits. 

I heard in an interview, that for years Gunn pondered what his take would be.  He wanted it to be fun, warm, exposed, a bit more down-to-Earth and at the same time, meaningful.  I believe he achieved that and more. 

Related: KSL Movie Show review: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ checks all the boxes, but something is missing

First, by choosing the likes of David Corenswet to play “the Kryptonian” as he’s referred to by those who would demean him.

Gunn found a gem that I had noticed in a crazy little movie called “Pearl” – an origin story about a farm girl (Mia Goth) who’s stuck in a life of drudgery but gets charmed by the small town’s theater operator. She was whacked; he was excellent.

Then to bring along the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Rachel Brosnahan) to play a journalistically-savvy Lois Lane, plus the super-accomplished “Juror #2” (Nicholas Hoult) as Lex Luthor and you have a pretty good trifecta of Grade A performers on which to base the plot around.

Then you toss in the rambunctious, scene-stealing “bad dog” Krypto, the not-so-nerdy, babe magnet Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and my personal favorite Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) who caught my attention way back on a season of “House” as a doctor, Gregory House affectionately called “Big Love.” And we’re just scratching the surface.  

More from KSL Movie Show: KSL Movie Show review: ‘F1: The Movie’ joins the ranks of other great racing films

Now as far as the story goes, Superman is accused of interfering in a border skirmish, just trying to prevent bloodshed, but stepped on a few political toes in the process.

Lex is trying to discredit him as an alien whose true intent would be to rule over humanity, but he swears that has never been his plan; he only wanted to be kind and do good things.

That will make him more vulnerable than we’ve seen him before, but hopefully from adversity comes growth.

The movie has a few meta moments like “pocket universes” and “fabric tears between worlds,” but that’s just Gunn being Gunn.

Overall, I thought everyone did an amazing job bringing new life to a storied adventure in a style that might not be for everyone, but it certainly worked for me. 

SUPERMAN (A-) Rated PG-13 for violence, action and language. Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Wendell Pierce, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced. Written and directed by James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy “The Suicide Squad”) – filmed in Ohio, Georgia and Norway. Running time: 129 minutes. 

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.